Valproic acid

Sodium valproate (also known as Valproate, or VPA) is a sodium salt of valproic acid.

Divalproex Sodium, sold by Abbott Laboratories under the trade name of Depakote is the semisodium salt of valproic acid, made by combining sodium valproate with valproic acid to form a chemical complex which contains half the sodium of an equivalent dose of sodium valproate.

Valproic acid, delivered in either of these forms, is a anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug used primarily in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder; but also used to treat migraine headaches and schizophrenia. In epileptics, valproic acid is used to control absence seizures, tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal), complex partial seizures, and the seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Valproate is believed to affect GABA receptors in the human brain.

Side Effects

Common side effects are dyspepsia and/or weight-gain. Less common are dizziness, drowsiness, hair-loss, headaches, nausea, sedation and tremors,

Valproic acid can also rarely cause blood dyscrasia, impaired liver function, jaundice, thrombocytopenia, and prolonged coagulation times. In ~5% of pregnant users, valproic acid will cross the placenta and cause congenital anomalies.

There have also been reports of cognitive dysfunction, Parkinsonian syndrome and even pseudoatrophic brain changes in long-term treatment with valproic acid.